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Xiaomi Mi 4 Review

Xiaomi, the Chinese manufacturer entered the Indian market with its Mi 3 smartphone and the smartphone turned out to be a huge success in the country. The unbelievable price tag it carried helped the device sell like hot cakes.

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Now, the stakes are quite high for its successor and Xiaomi will hoping that its latest introduction, the Mi 4 will be able to replicate the sales performance of its predecessor. We had a chance to spend some quality time with the Mi 4 and here’s what we think about the smartphone. Continue reading “Xiaomi Mi 4 Review”

Xiaomi Mi Note: First Impressions

The Mi Note and the Mi Note Pro were announced, a month back, in China. These two devices occupy Xiaomi’s phablet range, a category that was kickstarted at the lower end with the Redmi Note. Samsung used this suffix to denote the inclusion of a stylus, but for Xiaomi, it means only one thing, a larger screened version of a similar device. The Mi Note is positioned as the larger screened variant of the current flagship device, Mi 4. With similar hardware and design, it certainly is a phablet variant of the flagship, but could it possibly be more than just that? We unboxed the device to find out.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfZiFKPS0HY

Continue reading “Xiaomi Mi Note: First Impressions”

Inside Huawei R&D Part 2: Device Reliability and Environment testing

Huawei's Shanghai Campus

As part of our tour of Huawei’s China facilities, we were given an exclusive look at the company’s Research & Development labs. In the second of a two part-series, we look at the ways that Huawei tests the ability of its handsets to survive environment and climate changes as well as the key part; the reliability of its smartphones and their various ports and buttons.

In the first part of this series, we covered how Huawei tests its handsets for network performance and compliance with radiation emissions regulations and in this second part, we’re going to look at the tests that really affect mobile handsets – the reliability of the handset and its ports and the ability of the handset to handle different environments and climate changing. Continue reading “Inside Huawei R&D Part 2: Device Reliability and Environment testing”

5 things the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 does better than the Apple iPhone 6 Plus

Samsung and Apple have had their fair share of flagship battles over the years. iPhone or Galaxy S? That’s the standard question people asked, for buying a flagship. But this year has been slightly different. In the Note’s third iteration, it was clear that Samsung had not one but two flagship devices. Similarly, Apple now has two flagship devices, the iPhone 6 and the 6 Plus. Conveniently, the iPhone 6 Plus and the Note 4 are direct competitors, with similarly sized screens and ambitions. They compete on a lot of things with many commonalities, but some experiences are decidedly better on one, when compared with the other. So, here are five things that we feel the Note 4 does better vs the iPhone 6 Plus.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaW52gg3tDo

Continue reading “5 things the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 does better than the Apple iPhone 6 Plus”

Evolution of the Samsung Galaxy Note

The Galaxy Note series from Samsung is well known for being the one that started the big screen movement. People used to be dismissive of the concept in 2011 when the original released, but since then, all the flagships have gradually increased screen sizes, with the latest iPhone sporting a 5.5 inch screen and a Nexus sporting a 6 inch screen. Yes, times have changed, and so has the Note.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZBfS472ioY

Continue reading “Evolution of the Samsung Galaxy Note”

Micromax launches YUREKA with CyanogenMod OS, Snapdragon 615 SoC, 4G LTE for Rs. 8999

Micromax YUREKA

Micromax’s YU just launched YUREKA (AO5510), the company’s first YU branded smartphone as expected. It has a 5.5-inch (1280 x 720 pixels) IPS display, is powered by a Octa-Core 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 (4×1.5GHz + 4×1.0GHz) processor and runs on CyanogenMod OS 11 based on Android 4.4 (KitKat) with OTA updates every month. It features a 13-megapixel auto focus rear camera with LED Flash and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. Continue reading “Micromax launches YUREKA with CyanogenMod OS, Snapdragon 615 SoC, 4G LTE for Rs. 8999”

Welcome to India, Uber

Last night, news broke of a woman passenger allegedly raped by a Uber driver, in New Delhi. Hearing accounts of rape and violence against women is not new in this country, sadly, but what makes this even more shocking is the association with Uber, a disruptive mobile-first taxi platform that claims to have the “safest rides on the road“. According to the well-funded American startup’s website, safety is the second most important thing you need to know about them, right after the app, one of the most important user-facing features of their platform. For a company that prides itself on safety features, this is terrible news. Why and how did Uber let this happen? There are many answers to this question, but let’s give them a shot of reality first, with a warm message they can resonate with, “Welcome to India.”.

Continue reading “Welcome to India, Uber”

Apple iPhone 6 Plus Review

In 2007, Apple introduced the iPhone as a one-size-fits-all device. “You can’t get your hand around it”, “no one’s going to buy that.” said Steve Jobs, when asked about big screen phones like the 5″ Galaxy Note. This was 2010, after a controversial launch of the 3.5″ iPhone 4. Two years later, a 4″ iPhone 5 happened, and Tim Cook said “It also provides a larger screen without sacrificing one-handed use.”. People had already wanted a bigger iPhone by then. Even the generally awesome Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak got frustrated and said “Part of me wishes that Apple had not been so, kind of, arrogant and feeling we’re the only one with the right clue. I wish they had made a small and a large version of the iPhone; that would have been great for me.” That was the old Apple.

The new Apple heeded to public demand and released the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus a while back. There are now two kinds of iPhones, not one, and in this review, we are going to focus on the “phablet” from Apple, the 5.5″ iPhone 6 Plus.

Note: The review will focus solely on the 6 Plus, in assumption that you already know about the iPhone 6. In case you don’t, we have our iPhone 6 review available for educational purposes.

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Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro battery test

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro recently went through the paces in our labs and our detailed review revealed that the phablet is one of the best out there. Our tests also revealed that the device has a stellar better performance and it’s now time to put some spotlight on it. Continue reading “Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro battery test”

Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro Review

Lenovo has not been a go to brand when it comes to high-end smartphones. Even though, Lenovo is the third biggest manufacturer in its homeland, the company hasn’t managed to make a name for itself in other global markets.

The Chinese manufacturer seems to be determined to change its course and with their latest product – Vibe Z2 Pro the OEM is aiming to become one of the house hold names when it comes to purchasing power packed smartphones. Continue reading “Lenovo Vibe Z2 Pro Review”

FoneArena Labs: Introducing our all new battery test

We heard you! And, we are giving you what you asked for. One of the most requested features by our readers was the battery life test. The sheer number of appeals that we receive every single day meant that we would come up with the feature that matters most to you, our loyal readers. Continue reading “FoneArena Labs: Introducing our all new battery test”

Sony Xperia Z3: Camera Highlights

Sony introduced the Xperia Z3 and the Z3 compact recently, at the IFA event in Berlin. The obvious upgrades to the Z2 and the Z1 compact featured a slightly newer design and subtle changes to the hardware. One of the clear USPs of the Z3 is, of course, the camera. Since the Z1, Sony’s hardware for the camera has almost been consistent, but a lot of changes in software have not only added features, but made the experience much better. Another great USP of the Z3 and other Xperia devices is the ability to protect itself from water and dust. Couple these two and you get something that other flagships are not capable of.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy3iTagrSLg

Read our Sony Xperia Z3 Review

Android Lollipop is coming to Xperia devices

Continue reading “Sony Xperia Z3: Camera Highlights”

Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders start on October 7 in India, will hit stores on October 17th

apple-iphone-6-unboxing-first-impressions-6 We have just heard from Apple that the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Pre-orders will start on October 7th in India and the phones will hit stores such as Apple Authorized Resellers on October 17th which confirms our previous exclusive story about the new iPhones going on sale on October 17th in India . Both the 6 and 6 Plus are going to be available but are expected to sell out soon considering the craze surrounding iPhones every time a new iPhone enters the market and Apple is launching it this year during the Diwali shopping season which could help them sell more units than usually. Continue reading “Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus pre-orders start on October 7 in India, will hit stores on October 17th”

Apple iPhone 6 India launch invites point to October 17 launch

apple-iPhone6-india-launch-invite

FoneArena has got access to what seems like customer invites to buy the Apple iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus on launch day in India which is slated for October 17th 2014 which is about 2 weeks away. Going by the information on the invite the iPhone 6 and its bigger brother 6 Plus will go on sale on 16th night in India. Apple did roll out the iPhone 5s and 5c in India in a similar fashion with customer launch events at major cities including Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai . No information on the pricing at this point but we expect it to be similar to the Europe / UK pricing. Stocks are expected to be extremely limited considering the global demand for the new iPhones with wait times upto 4 weeks in many other launch countries.

Continue reading “Apple iPhone 6 India launch invites point to October 17 launch”

Nokia Lumia 930 launched in India for Rs. 38649

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Microsoft has finally launched the Nokia Lumia 930, the company’s latest high-end smartphone. It was announced back in April and packs a 5-inch (1920 x 1080 pixels) full HD ClearBlack AMOLED display with Gorilla Glass 3 protection, powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and runs on Windows Phone 8.1 OS. Continue reading “Nokia Lumia 930 launched in India for Rs. 38649”